Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG)

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 14,724 call options on the company. This is an increase of 41% compared to the average daily volume of 10,419 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $221.00 to $216.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on NRG Energy from $226.00 to $211.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of NRG Energy from $162.00 to $159.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 18th. BNP Paribas Exane set a $221.00 price target on NRG Energy in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $203.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $198.21.

Insider Activity at NRG Energy

In related news, CAO Gerald Alfred Spencer sold 1,580 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.93, for a total transaction of $191,069.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $751,338.09. This trade represents a 20.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in NRG Energy by 178.1% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,676,513 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,222,409,000 after acquiring an additional 4,916,653 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in NRG Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $473,391,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in NRG Energy by 16.7% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,192,394 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $320,396,000 after acquiring an additional 313,410 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of NRG Energy by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,191,133 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $320,145,000 after purchasing an additional 21,666 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors bought a new position in NRG Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $305,817,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.72% of the company’s stock.

NRG Energy Stock Down 1.3%

NRG Energy stock traded down $1.29 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $95.88. 3,663,056 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,647,756. The company has a market cap of $20.23 billion, a PE ratio of 25.37 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $115.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $133.66. NRG Energy has a one year low of $93.36 and a one year high of $189.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.17.

NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.20). The firm had revenue of $7.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.31 billion. NRG Energy had a return on equity of 52.95% and a net margin of 2.56%.NRG Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.73 EPS. NRG Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.900-9.900 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that NRG Energy will post 8.61 EPS for the current year.

NRG Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a $0.4750 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. NRG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.26%.

About NRG Energy

NRG Energy, Inc (NYSE:NRG) is an integrated power and home services company headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company produces and sells electricity and natural gas and provides energy-related products and services to residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers.

NRG operates power generation assets that use a range of fuel sources, including natural gas, coal, nuclear power and renewable energy. It also develops and supports technologies such as battery storage and offers electricity, natural gas, renewable energy and energy-management services through retail brands including Reliant, Direct Energy, Green Mountain Energy and other regional providers.

In addition to its energy business, NRG provides smart-home, security, automation and related services through its Vivint operations.